THOMPSON -- The two-time provincial champ has been basking in the glow of her best cashspiel season ever.

Now, Fort Rouge's top-seeded Janet Harvey is hoping to ride that momentum to her third Manitoba title at this week's Scott Tournament of Hearts.

"For sure, for a very long time, we hadn't done that well," Harvey said yesterday. "We also haven't travelled extensively in the last few years. It's pretty expensive to do that -- not that we travelled a lot this year. But we have had a very good year.

"I'm playing a lot better than I was playing last year. It's sort of all come together. We've gotten some breaks, which always helps, and we're playing well enough to win and finding ways to win. I can't really explain it, though."

Harvey, 38, led the Manitoba Curling Tour in earnings and also qualified for the Canada Cup, which starts in Kamloops, B.C. next week.

"That's all wiped out now," Harvey suggested. "To me, it's two separate seasons. And it doesn't matter what seed you are, anyone can win here. We have confidence going in, but so do a lot of other teams. But we're going to have to be very sharp if we want to be there in the playoffs.

"I'm proud of winning (Manitoba) those two times (1990 and '97), and I'd like to win at least one more. It would be nice. Every year I want to win. I don't come out here because I'm having a lot of fun. The fun part is when you win."

New second Cherie-Anne Loder has also sparked the team.

"She's 22 years old, and she's teaching us all kinds of new things, like text messaging and stuff like that," Harvey joked. "It's pretty funny. She probably thinks she's playing with a hunch of old bags, but it's definitely added a new dimension to the team."

Loder, who was at last year's Scott with Ainsley Champagne, was actually a last-minute replacement for Lisa Fargey, who got transferred to the U.S.

"I didn't have a team right up until August," Loder said. "I was looking to get my own team and get back into skipping. Then Janet called me."

BITER: The Scott, by the way, will apparently be held in Morris next year, with Dauphin hosting the Safeway Select.